Internships offer incredible opportunities to collaborate with industry experts while contributing to meaningful projects. But you might still wonder—what does an internship really look like on a daily basis?
For those curious about the EHS Support Internship Program, Gina Girgente, a 2024 Summer Internship alum, shares her firsthand insights. From rewarding challenges to her top advice for future applicants, this blog has everything you need to know to prepare for an enriching experience with EHS Support.
What was the most rewarding part of this internship experience?
I was consistently and appropriately challenged; each day was exciting because I knew that I would be able to learn something new or improve a skill.
What new skills, techniques, and knowledge did you gain?
I learned so many new things! This was my first time working with datasets this large, which taught me advanced organizational skills and workflows for processing big data efficiently. For instance, I discovered a more efficient way of georeferencing historical maps for coordinate extraction and learned that GIS tasks can be automated more often than I realized.
Before this internship, I had limited experience with Esri web tool creation products. Over the summer, I was given the room to explore different Esri products and their capabilities and ended up becoming the go-to expert for a web tool I created in ArcGIS Experience Builder. Now, I feel extremely confident in GIS web tool development and feel that I can use my skills gained in this internship in my academic and future professional career.
Did the internship program match your expectations?
Definitely! The EHS Support Summer Internship Program not only met but exceeded my expectations. I gained as much knowledge and experience here as I would in an academic semester. Beyond that, the program gave me greater confidence in my abilities as a GIS professional, which I’m incredibly grateful for.
What is something you wish you knew before you started the program?
Since most of the internship is remote, a second monitor and a reliable internet connection make a world of difference.
Does everyone work on the same project? Did you mostly work independently or in a group?
Our cohort included two types of interns—site investigators and technical specialists. Site investigators worked on similar tasks related to researching different sites while technical specialists focused on different tasks in specific areas. I was the only GIS technical specialist, so my tasks were unique. Although much of my work was independent, collaboration was more frequent than I expected. Other interns often asked me for help creating figures or explaining the web tool I developed. Similarly, interns working on related study areas regularly collaborated by sharing information. While I spent a lot of time working independently, I connected with at least one person daily. It never felt isolating.
Did you find the program to be challenging? What was the most challenging aspect of the project that you worked on?
The internship program was definitely challenging, but I never felt like I was in over my head or that I didn’t have people to help and support me throughout the way. The program requires critical and creative thinking to deliver outputs for specific tasks, and sometimes the person requesting the output wasn’t sure whether it was even possible.
This meant I spent a lot of time experimenting with workflows to achieve the desired result—a process that challenged me, since I am more familiar with how GIS is used in the academic field. But this challenge helped me think more like a GIS professional, boosting my confidence and broadening my skills.
What did your weekly/daily schedule look like during the program?
I had about seven deliverables to complete throughout the program and each was at least one week long, so each week would be dedicated to completing whatever deliverable I was assigned in my syllabus. Because of that, my schedule was dynamic and varied a good amount, which I really liked. A generalization of my daily schedule would be this:
Morning: Start by checking missed emails and Teams messages, review the progress notes I wrote the day before, and outline my goals for the day. Then, I’d work on my deliverable.
Midday: Conduct research to better understand the task at hand.
Afternoon: Meet with a coworker to learn a new workflow, ask questions, or take on a new task in addition to my deliverable. After that, I’d continue working on my deliverable or tackle smaller side tasks from other interns or employees.
End of Day: Write new progress notes to track what I completed and plan what to focus on when I return the next morning.
What kind of relationships did you form during the program? (fellow interns/EHS staff etc.)
At the beginning of the internship, I didn’t expect to make many relationships since it’s mostly remote, but I definitely made a lot of friends during these 10 weeks. All of the other interns were extremely smart and fun to be around, so it made the in-person weeks really enjoyable. I intend to keep in touch with them in the future!
I also really enjoyed connecting with EHS Support staff and am going to continue updating them on my academic progress as I finish my master’s degree. Outside of work, EHS Support staff are also really enjoyable to talk to and have a lot of cool hobbies like skiing and hiking. Since the company is fully remote, it’s also fun to talk to EHS Support staff about where they live and learn more about those areas.
What was it like during your remote weeks? Did you feel connected to the team?
The remote weeks were definitely calmer compared to the in-person ones, which were packed with guest speakers and learning sessions about the Superfund process and our study area in general. That said, the deliverables gave me an appropriate amount of work to do so I was kept busy and didn’t feel like I was sitting around and wasting time throughout the remote weeks.
I was really impressed with EHS Support’s ability to communicate so well remotely. Anytime I had a question, I could quickly shoot a staff member a Teams message and they would almost instantly reply or video call me so that we could work through my problem. Since EHS Support is fully remote, they have advanced digital communication skills and are very talented at making you feel connected to your coworkers even though you’re not face-to-face.
Do you have to be from Philadelphia to participate?
Not at all! I am from Virginia and had never visited Pennsylvania before this. The other interns were from various states on the East Coast, but none of them were from Pennsylvania. Additionally, two out of three of our EHS Support internship program heads do not live in Pennsylvania. The program staff organized flights and hotel accommodations for the in-person weeks, making it easy for interns from various states to participate.
What advice would you give to someone starting the program?
If you’ve taken an online class before, you know that it can be easy sometimes to skip out on work or classes. With a remote internship however, you can’t do that because other interns and EHS staff are depending on you. Make sure that you can be responsible by waking up and logging on to Teams on time every morning, and that you have enough self-control to work for eight hours a day. Sometimes it can be tempting to log off early because no one is watching you during an online class, but through this internship, that puts not only yourself but other people behind in their progress.
Also, ask as many questions as you can. The interns and EHS support staff are going to be some of the most knowledgeable people you’ll have met. Invest time in understanding their expertise and learning from their experiences.
Want to See More from Gina’s Experience?
Check out the Storymap she created, documenting her time with the EHS Support Summer Internship Program! If you’re considering applying to EHS Support’s 2025 Summer Internship Program, there’s plenty to look forward to. This program promises not only professional growth but also meaningful relationships and exciting challenges you won’t find elsewhere. Don’t miss your chance to be part of it! Apply Today!
